


Stealing Sunshine

by Capucine



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, M/M, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 07:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4658388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Capucine/pseuds/Capucine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bulgaria still hates a society that allows rapists to get away if they are sufficiently rich. That doesn't change that he has to deal with the aftermath of one such very personal case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stealing Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> A little disturbing, I think, but mostly deals with the emotional rather than the graphic.

Vladimir twisted and turned in his bed, a great sweat broken out on his skin. His words were muffled first, a sort of, “mmno” but soon his cries became more panicked, fighting the sheets and desperately whimpering and begging.

It was then that Aleksander had to wake him up. He'd been sitting up next to him, writing on his computer, and he knew that his mate was in great distress. “Vlad! Vlad, wake up, it's okay! You're safe, I promise.”

Vlad came awake with a start, eyes looking around wildly. Still half awake, he said, “No, no, I said no, I don't have to, please--!”

Aleksander knew better than to grab him at this point. The first time he'd tried pulling him to his chest in a hug, he'd gotten several bruises for his trouble, as well as screaming that disturbed little Vasile down the hall. Vlad was not quite with him yet, and any restraints would make him panic. “Hey. Hey, Vlad, it's okay. You're here, in our home, with me. No one's hurting you, I promise.”

Vlad took in some deep breaths, still looking confused. It often took him a while to wake up. “Aleks...?”

“Yes, it's me,” Aleksander said, setting his computer on the nightstand. “I'm here, and you're safe.” He opened up his arms, an invitation he was pretty sure would be accepted.

Vlad curled up into his chest, clinging tightly to his pajama top. “I'm... I'm sorry,” he said quietly, not being able to bear looking his mate in the eyes. Omegas were often told in society that their role was to keep their Alpha sated and happy, and this often meant that Omegas buried their problems within themselves. Aleksander was worried about this happening with Vlad.

“No, it's okay. Don't apologize, it's not your fault,” Aleksander said, as gently as he could even while he felt anger. He held Vlad tightly, that familiar anger seeping through his veins. It mainly manifested in great protectiveness, but the image of the people who did this to his mate still was burned into his mind.

Vlad was quiet now, even though Aleksander could feel the wetness through his shirt of his mate crying. He didn't hate that he cried, he just hated that he needed to cry. He hated that there was a reason to cry.

Aleksander petted Vlad's head, knowing it soothed his mate. He was careful not to pull his hair, knowing that could be a problem. “I love you. You know that?”

Vlad hiccuped in response. He often didn't talk when he had actual problems. 

It had been like pulling teeth to find out everything that happened.

Aleksander could still remember the day two months ago when he was called in from his work as a chemist at Flavor Development Inc. Vlad was supposed to be working at his usual job as a very chatty costumer, pins perpetually held in his mouth as he managed to talk and not drop them. He looked like he belonged among the costumes, minus the pincushion on his wrist and the perpetual chalk on his fingertips.

He was supposed to be working on Greco-Roman costumes that day, with a large party of Alphas.

Vlad had been lucky. He owned his own tiny business in a little old house on a corner. He was happy, confident, and more than a little rambunctious.

For an Omega, that was a lot. And apparently, the drunken Alphas had decided that was too much for an Omega to have.

He was mercifully out when Aleksander made it to the hospital. That had been the decision of the doctor, seeing as he was in a lot of pain and hysterical. Aleksander had sobbed alone in the room, holding tightly to his mate's hand and knowing he would have to be the strong one, support his mate more than ever and now was the time to get his sorrow out.

Now was the time to get his hate out, because there was no way he was going to take out a whole group of Alphas that came from some rich company.

Vladimir had sustained a lot of damage. On the minor side, his pins had gone through his lip; his fingers had been smashed on his right hand. His eye was swollen shut, and his hip painfully displaced.

That was the minor part. His sacrum was cracked, he was horribly torn, his left wrist fractured, his innards bruised, his kneecap shattered in his right leg, and his throat so raw it left him whispering no matter how hard he tried to be louder.

He had a thick cast on his leg, up to the hip, and his wrist was in one up to the elbow. He still didn't look quite at peace in his drugged sleep, the pin-holes in his lip shining red. 

Aleksander was relieved he at least didn't have a head injury or brain damage. It was going to be hard enough to take care of his mate. He sat there in that chair for hours, calling a friend to pick up Vasile from school.

When Vlad finally came out of it, his eyes were dull, hazy. He looked at him like he didn't understand, and that broke Aleksander's heart. It was too much for Vladimir to think he would be beaten and gang-raped in his own business. In his drug-addled state, all he knew was that he was still feeling some pain, and that he didn't know what was going on.

Aleksander had held him the best he could, convinced him not to tear out the IV, and stayed with him all night. He had Heracles to thank for taking Vasile home, even if, according to Vasile, they just watched old VHS's all night and ate a vast quantity of hastily bought chicken nuggets and fries.

It took a short while to get Vlad out of the hospital, and it took even longer to get him out of bed for anything but the bedside commode.

Now, here he was, mate drawn up to his chest, the leg cast heavily pressed against his own leg, and the scent of fear in his nostrils. He hated the other Alphas, but he had more pressing matters.

“Vlad, sweetheart, it’s okay. You’re allowed.” He didn’t elaborate, but he knew that Vlad got it.

Vlad’s arms were between them, his hands grasping Aleksander’s shirt. He said softly, “I don’t want this. I want it gone.”

“I know you do,” Aleksander sighed, gently petting his hair still. He knew that calmed his mate, as long as it didn't catch, didn't pull.

He was shivering, as he often was when he woke up in a cold sweat. His head pressed against Aleksander's chest, and for not the first time, Aleksander was reminded of his utter powerlessness in the face of Vlad's problems.

He'd done everything he could to make Vlad feel safe. He still remembered earlier on, when Vlad had regained mobility, the time he had to break into the house to get in due to the deadbolt on the door, and he found Vlad hiding with Vasile in a closet. Vasile had no clue why this was going on, only a fear that they were going to die, and he'd had to comfort both of them.

He'd gotten a gun. He'd installed a security system. He'd gotten a fellow Alpha to occasionally stop by when he was gone. Vlad did not like Sadik, but it was a sibling kind of dislike, and he would put up with the Alpha's visits.

Today, he just had to get Vlad through this.

“Hey. Do you want to talk about it, Vlad?” Aleksander held him gently, scared that one day he would clutch too roughly and trigger everything all over again.

Vlad was silent, as he typically was. There was still so much that Aleksander didn't know about the attack, and that drove him crazy, but Vlad's comfort was more important than him knowing the details.

Well, today was another one of those no-detail days, and so he just held him.

But it wasn't. “I could smell them,” Vlad said in a tiny voice, not looking up at him. “It was like they were all there.”

Aleksander still remembered him reeking of the other Alphas in the hospital, which sent him petitioning for a bath of some kind as soon as possible, something Vlad was not aware enough to request.

He didn't say anything, just stroked his hair.

Vlad pressed closer, seemingly an impossible feat. “There were so many. I... I fucking hate them. I hate them, Aleks.”

“I know,” Aleks said softly, knowing that hate had been a companion of his in some ways since the incident. He was not surprised that Vlad felt the same way, and probably in an even stronger way.

Vlad seemed to need the reassurance that he was all right to hate them, something that broke Aleksander's heart. In a society where one kind came before all others, where the right to rape was disgustingly protected, expressing hatred was twisted from Omegas. They were said to have brought on their rape by being aggressive, or even by initiating it and then lying about it later.

And Vlad was not your typical Omega. He was witty, bold, and all too often _equal_ to his Alpha customers. He wouldn't be treated like a servant, he was the boss of his business and he took pride in his work.

Vlad's eyes finally met his, wet with tears. “I didn't do anything,” he said, as if desperate to assure Aleksander that he hadn't brought his own rape on his head. “I, um, I was... I just was bantering. I didn't mean to, it just--”

“Vlad, you can't apologize for being you,” Aleksander said, “None of it's your fault. No matter what you said or did, they didn't have the right, no one does.”

Vlad let out a guilty sob. He said, stumblingly, “H-He, the Alpha, he said, redo this hem in gold, and-and, I said, 'Well, fuck me, right?' cause I'd already done the whole hem and his costume was done and... and...” He cried harder, unable to look up again.

Aleksander was sure he'd never wanted to kill more in his life. Maybe the first time, in the hospital, but that Vlad could even be made to think this was his fault by his attackers was an anger that burned through his veins and almost made him clutch Vlad too tightly.

“He said I will. He said it. I said I didn't mean it,” and he couldn't continue, curled into Aleksander for comfort. He seemed almost afraid he wouldn't find the comfort, that his mate would turn him away.

“Vlad. That is—it's bullshit. That's not the reason...” Aleksander swallowed, trying to reason without letting his anger at them bleed over into his interaction with Vlad. “That's not your fault, Vlad. They would've taken any reason to do it, because you know why? People like that hate to see Omegas as equals. They hate seeing Omegas happy and with jobs and talking to them without a deferential quiver.” He held Vlad tighter to him, saying, “And none of that's your fault, Vlad. I swear none of it is.”

“I just want to walk,” Vlad sobbed, “I want to go home.”

He was home, but no amount of telling him this took away the words. It was a sentiment expressed over and over, though there was no home to go to, only a time before the whole thing took place. Aleksander had talked to his mate's therapist about this, perplexed and wondering where he could take him. Instead, his therapist had told him it was a desperate desire to return to normal, something that Vlad couldn't express in a clearer way, especially on the pain medications that addled his brain.

“I know, love,” Aleksander said. This, the aftermath, had turned their whole world upside down. Where they had been equals, Aleks was now the caretaker and Vlad frustratingly (to himself) helpless. Poor Vasile had taken a hit from it too. Where Vlad had cheerfully cooked every night with his little brother before, now Aleksander heated him up frozen food and pleaded with him to let Vlad sleep.

Vasile had taken to coloring, everywhere and every time of day, because it was quiet and wouldn't disturb Vlad. He also had been reported as acting out at school, and no matter how many times Aleks had a talk with him, he only got a noncommital shrug and the same behavior repeated again within the week.

Vlad had cried himself out. He stayed quiet, close as he could be to Aleks. As usual, he did not say anything more; what he'd said tonight was a miracle in and of itself.

Slowly, he fell asleep again against Aleksander's chest, and Aleksander wished he could feel as safe with most people as he did with Aleksander himself.

That might never happen again.


End file.
